VLOOKUP stands for vertical lookup and we can use to scan a column and get matching data. In this article, learn how to use VLOOKUP with 10 practical examples. You also get a free sample workbook to practice VLOOKUP.
Table of Contents
What is VLOOKUP?
VLOOKUP stands for Vertical Lookup. We can use it scan your data to find a matching value.
You can use the below syntax to write VLOOKUP.
'SYNTAX
=VLOOKUP(search_value, in_this_data, return_column_number, approximate_match_ok?)
- Search_value: this is the first parameter or option for VLOOKUP. You can specify the lookup value here. It can be a typed-in value or reference to a cell value.
- In_this_data: This is where your data is. It can be on the same worksheet or in another tab. It can be a range of values (like B5:E17) or a table (like tblSales).
- return_column_number: This number tells VLOOKUP which column to extract after the result is found. Refer to below examples to better understand this.
- approximate_match_ok? This TRUE / FALSE setting tells VLOOKUP if you want an approximate or exact match for your search. In 99% of situations, I use FALSE for this, as we need EXACT matches in business situations.
VLOOKUP Explanation
Here is a simple VLOOKUP to get the sales value of Josh from my sales data in the range $B$5:$E$17. The formula returns the result of $1680.
Refer to below image to understand the concept of VLOOKUP.
'SYNTAX
=VLOOKUP(search_value, in_this_data, return_column_number, approximate_match_ok?)
'EXAMPLE
=VLOOKUP("Josh", $B$5:$E$17,3,FALSE)
'RESULT
1680
EXPLANATION
Vertically looks up “Josh” in column B of the range B5:E17 and returns the exact matching value from column D (3rd column from B). Refer to the above picture and syntax to understand the concept.
VLOOKUP - 5 Essential Examples
Now that you understand the concept of VLOOKUP, let’s look at 5 essential examples of this lookup function in day-to-day business settings.
Note: All these examples use the same sales dataset as above. You can grab a copy of this file from here.
Example 1 - Basic Usage of VLOOKUP
The most basic usage of VLOOKUP is to lookup a value in a table and get corresponding matching value from another column.
In this example, we want to lookup sales of “Josh” from the sales data in the range B5:E17.
'EXAMPLE 1
=VLOOKUP("Josh", $B$5:$E$17,3,FALSE)
'RESULT
1680
Example 2 - Using Input Cell for Search Value
One simple way to make your VLOOKUP formulas powerful is by using input cell to maintain the search value. This way, everytime you need to search for a different thing, you just update the search value.
'EXAMPLE 2
'Put a person's name in cell G8, such as Jagjit
'Formula:
=VLOOKUP(G8,$B$5:$E$17,4,FALSE)
'RESULT
709
Example 3 - Searching by pattern (name begins with)
Many times, we don’t know what the full value is. We just know the first few letters. For example, looking at the sales data in range B5:E17, you want to find the sales of the person whose name begins with the value in cell G5.
For example, G5 contains Jav
In this case, we are looking for the person Javed.
'EXAMPLE 3
'Type Jav in G5
'Formula:
=VLOOKUP(G5&"*",$B$5:$E$17,3,FALSE)
'RESULT
$2277
How this “Name begins with” VLOOKUP works?
- The formula is =VLOOKUP(G5&”*”,$B$5:$E$17,3,FALSE)
- First let’s look at the search_value option. This is G5&”*”
- As G5 is “Jav”, this becomes Jav*
- * is a special character for VLOOKUP. It means, anything after Jav.
- So VLOOKUP looks for any name that begins with Jav and finds Javed.
- The rest is easy to understand.
POP QUIZ…
- How would you find Net Sales for the person whose name ends with sh
- Write a formula for that and share your answers in the comment section.
Example 4 - Get the entire record
Let’s say you want the entire record, not just Net Sales column (3). In this case, you can use an array as the 3rd parameter for VLOOKUP. See this powerful example.
'EXAMPLE 4
'Get entire record for Johnson
'Formula:
=VLOOKUP("Johnson",$B$5:$E$17,{1,2,3,4},FALSE)
'RESULT
The entire row of values for Johnson
Johnson 10 $1,540 $570
Note about using this formula:
- If you have Excel 365 or using Excel on the web, the above formula works as is.
- If you are using any older version of Excel (such as Excel 2016 / 2013 / 2010), then you should do the below steps:
- Select a range of 4 cells for your result.
- Type the formula in the very first cell.
- Then instead of pressing ENTER, press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER
Example 5 - When VLOOKUP can't find the value...
Life would be just awesome if we can always find what we want. Sadly, that is not the case. So what happens when VLOOKUP can’t find the value you want to look for?
It will return an error. #N/A error.
See below example. Read on to learn how to fix the problem.
'EXAMPLE 5
'Looking for an non-existent value
'Formula:
=VLOOKUP("Chandoo", B5:E17,2,FALSE)
'RESULT
#N/A
How to fix the #N/A error in VLOOKUP?
We can use the IFERROR function of Excel to handle errors with our VLOOKUP FORMULAS.
For example, you can use this formula to show a message like “Person not found” for the Example 5 above.
'EXAMPLE 5 with error handling
'Looking for an non-existent value
'Formula:
=IFERROR(VLOOKUP("Chandoo", B5:E17,2,FALSE), "Person not found")
'RESULT
Person not found
How to use VLOOKUP when you have data in a table?
VLOOKUP works great with data in tables or regular ranges. I prefer using VLOOKUP with table data as tables are easier to manage business data.
Related: Learn how to create and use Excel Tables.
Here are 3 examples of using VLOOKUP with CTRL+T Tables in Excel.
'VLOOKUP TABLE EXAMPLES
'Data is in table named tblSales
'Formula:
=VLOOKUP("Josh",tblSales,3,FALSE)
'Result:
$1680
'Formula
=VLOOKUP(G37,tblSales,3,FALSE)
'Result
$1799
'Formula
=VLOOKUP(G41&"*",tblSales,3,FALSE)
'Result:
$2277
Learn more about tables in Excel:
- Tables are a very powerful and time-saving feature of Excel. Please refer to below articles to learn more.
- How to create and use tables in Excel
- Tables + VLOOKUP examples
VLOOKUP - Video Tutorial
Please refer to below video tutorial to understand how to use VLOOKUP.
Download VLOOKUP Examples - Workbook
Please download the sample workbook for this article and learn how to use VLOOKUP quickly.
What are the limitations of VLOOKUP?
While VLOOKUP is a game changer when it was originally introduced, when you look at the data challenges we all face in 2024, it suffers from many limitations. Here are the main downsides of using VLOOKUP.
- It can only lookup on the left-most column: VLOOKUP can only search on the data in left-most column of the table and return values to the right. So, if you want to find out the sales person’s name who has sales of $2,133, we can’t do that with VLOOKUP.
- We can use INDEX+MATCH or XLOOKUP (my preference) to solve this problem.
- Column Numbers: Let’s be real. Nobody refers to their data by column numbers. We think and memorize the data by what it is. So, if I want to lookup a name and get the corresponding sales, then I must translate the sales to column number for VLOOKUP. This is lame.
- We can use XLOOKUP to fix this problem.
- No Error handling: VLOOKUP doesn’t handle errors by itself. So if your lookup cannot find the value, it just comes back with #N/A. This often has a cascading effect on the charts, dashboards or reports you create.
- We can use either XLOOKUP or IFERROR to solve this problem.
- Approximate Trap: I can’t tell you how many times I accidentally leave the last parameter of VLOOKUP out and end up getting wrong results. This is because, if you forget to say FALSE at the end of VLOOKUP, you fall into the approximate trap. Your VLOOKUP RESULTS WILL BE WRONG.
- We can use XLOOKUP or be careful when writing VLOOKUPS.
My top 3 Alternatives for VLOOKUP
Let me be honest here. As of 2024, I no longer use VLOOKUP to solve my lookup problems in Excel. I use one of these alternatives depending on the nature of the job.
- XLOOKUP: Ever since XLOOKUP was launched a few years ago, it has become my go to lookup formula. It can do everything VLOOKUP does and adds many time-saving features.
- XLOOKUP can lookup both vertically or horizontally.
- XLOOKUP defaults to exact match all the time.
- It can lookup on any column and return another column (thus fixing the left column only limitation of VLOOKUP)
- It has built-in error handling mechanism.
- It works well with new Dynamic Array world of Excel.
- Power Query: We can use the MERGE Queries functionality of Power Query to lookup and get matching values for two tables quickly and efficiently. I mention this in my recent video here.
- Power Pivot: If you have two tables each holding one piece of a data puzzle and you want to answer business questions by combining both datasets, we can use Power Pivot’s relationship feature. This automatically connects both tables and let’s you synthesize data to answer queries. Learn how to use Power Pivot to replace VLOOKUPs.
In conclusion: Should you learn and use VLOOKUP?
As mentioned above, I no longer actively use VLOOKUP for my lookup problems. That said, it is a very useful formula and I recommend everyone to learn the basic syntax at the minimum.
- If you use Excel 365 or Excel on Web: Focus on learning XLOOKUP instead.
- If you also work in Power BI: Learn how to use Power Query and Power Pivot to replace LOOKUPS in your data.
- If you work with older versions of Excel: Then VLOOKUP is a must for you. Learn and use it well.
More information on VLOOKUP
Check out below resources and help to learn more about VLOOKUP and alternatives.
25 Responses to “Shift Calendar Template – FREE Download”
Hi Chandoo,
your recent postings include only Excel 2007 templates. Unfortunately the company I work at still runs Excel 2003. Is it possible to get your awesome files in other excel version as well?
Thanks so much for your great excel stuff!
Is it possible to do this for shifts with hours instead of days? To organise a three shift day?
Thanks in advance,
Stelios
In my organization there are 45 employees i need split then into three shifts ex:A shift:14,B shift:14,C shift:14 and week off:3 kindly help me on this.
@Masthan
You need to understand what rules your company has for the various shifts / roster combinations
Chandoo, I once did a shift control spreadsheet for my team. I put one person in each line, the columns were the days. I put a shift code in each cell indicating in which shift that person should work, or if the person were out that day. I have two codes for being out. One is for vacations and one is to compensate days worked in weekends. This way I was able to count how many persons I have in each shift, how many were on vacations and how many were out compensating (that's the term we use here) weekend worked hours.
Later I included the possibility of a person be in two lines one for normal hours other for overtime. This is mainly used for planning purposes. If you would like I can send you an example. The only problem of this spreadsheet is that we don't have a person view, only this consolidated view.
Hi George, I would like to have a copy of your spreadsheet if you can share it.
Thanks in advance, Chuck
Hi Chandoo,
Where is the code located ? is it VBA ? If so , how do you hide it ? Or it is .NET ?
Thx
@Idan
.
No VBA or code, it is all done with Mirrors.
Only Joking,
.
But there is no VBA or code,
It is all done with Named Formulas and Lookups.
Have alook at the cells in the calander area and Named Formulas in the Formulas, Name Manager Tab.
How can i calculate between two or more different workbooks? Please, reply me as early as possible.
@Anand
Open the workbooks you want to link to
Start a formula = and click and change between workbooks as required.
You can use the View, Switch window menu to change workbooks mid formula
The format for using workbooks is
=[Workbook.xlsm]Sheet1!$A$1
or
=SUM('[Book2.xls]Sheet1'!$A$1:$D$10)
etc
Hi Chandoo,
I am working with a call centre wherein i ned to update at the month end 20 to 30 employees login hours which are defict to track it at the month end is very difficult is there any template which can be made to track that why on a particular day a guy who needs to be on calls was why not on calls.
Thank you so much Chandoo. This is really helping me. As usual, you rock.
What's FortyTwoDays and Calendar in Name manager?
Both are unused and FortyTwoDays doesn't make any sense.
I have a SQL db that contains records of events scheduled/completed on a particular date. Can this method ous building a calendar be used to display those events on the respective day?
Positively awesome!
I'm attempting to help a friend create a schedule for adult classes - and of course its not"paid help". Here is the scenario:
20 classes, instructor, room#, student class size, start date, number of class days (need to subtract weekends)
class
instructor
room
students
start
#days
PATH
karen
201
21
01/01/13
11
BILLING
jane
401
15
01/12/13
13
MEDISOFT
mike
301
11
01/25/13
9
he'd like to see these classes show up in different colors within the same month's calendar chart. He can draw it, but I'd like to see it done automatically through data, and I just can't visualize it, but I KNOW this will work - can you help?
Jan 🙂
Dear chandoo,
Try many way to download still can't access. Any way we want to try out 3 shifts with 3 guys in a group .eg Group A Morn, Group B Night and Group C Rest. And every each group must work on sunday to take turns. In fact we are security teams so that's why sunday is required to work. Pls guide and show how to put in the working calendar. Thank you in advance.
I've been trying to copy and/or recreate this to use in a workbook I'm doing for the transportation department I'm working for. I need to have the calendar on the first sheet in my document (it has graph's from data on another sheet). I'm trying to use it to track (with the conditional formatting) accidents and injuries. I've redone the conditional formatting to do 4 different accident types (no injury, near miss, OSHA recordable injury and work loss injury), but when I enter the formula's you have in the calendar portion where it says "DateOfFirst-FirstWeekDay" I can't figure out how you did that. Are you able to help?
I would like to use Excel to solve the following problem for a community work. I want to create a Driver schedule for a given month from a pool of volunteers for a community service. Each of these volunteers can drive only on specific days in a week. I would like to populate the driving schedule for each weekday with primary, secondary and tertiary drivers in a random fashion so that I do not overburden one person. I would greatly any help you can provide.
Hi chandoo,
Thanks for your valuable effort for create this template and let me know how to add multiple employees in the the Roaster.
Hi Chandoo,
This article on shift roaster is very helpful. Could you please let me know how i can use the same for n number of resources who work 24/7, considering their leaves and holidays?
Thanks,
Savitha
Hi Chandoo,
This article on shift roaster is very helpful to all. Could you please let me know how i can use the same if I want to add for some more shifts, since the color is not getting change if I add more shifts like 4,5 etc.,
Thanks,
Murali
nice post
How can I change the date to 2017 under Shift Data worksheet.
solution 1:
mydata=B2:C16
stoplist=E2:E8
=LET(RNG,A2:A16,SMR,C2:C16, F,(RNG=E2)+(RNG=E3)+(RNG=E4)+(RNG=E5)+(RNG=E6)+(RNG=E7)+(RNG=E8),SUM(SMR)-SUM(SMR*F))
=LET(RNG,A2:A16,SMR,C2:C16,RH,N(B2:B16=B2), F,(RNG=E2)+(RNG=E3)+(RNG=E4)+(RNG=E5)+(RNG=E6)+(RNG=E7)+(RNG=E8),TOT,SUM(SMR)-SUM(SMR*RH*F),SUM(SMR*RH)-SUM(SMR* RH*F))
ALTERNATE SOLUTION
=SUM(C2:C16)-SUM(FILTER(C2:C16,ISNUMBER(BYROW(A2:A16,LAMBDA(a,TOROW(SEARCH(a,E2:E8),2))))))
=SUM((B2:B16=B2)*(C2:C16))-SUM((ISNUMBER(BYROW(A2:A16,LAMBDA(a,TOROW(SEARCH(a,E2:E8),2))))*(B2:B16=B2)*(C2:C16)))
let
Source = Excel.CurrentWorkbook(){[Name="Table1"]}[Content],
#"Replaced Value" = Table.ReplaceValue(Source,null,";",Replacer.ReplaceValue,{"Column1"}),
#"Transposed Table" = Table.Transpose(#"Replaced Value"),
#"Removed Other Columns" = Table.SelectColumns(#"Transposed Table",{"Column1", "Column2", "Column3", "Column4", "Column5", "Column6", "Column7", "Column8", "Column9", "Column10", "Column11", "Column12", "Column13", "Column14", "Column15", "Column16", "Column17", "Column18", "Column19", "Column20", "Column21", "Column22", "Column23", "Column24", "Column25", "Column26", "Column27", "Column28", "Column29", "Column30", "Column31", "Column32", "Column33", "Column34", "Column35", "Column36", "Column37", "Column38", "Column39", "Column40", "Column41", "Column42", "Column43", "Column44", "Column45", "Column46", "Column47", "Column48", "Column49", "Column50", "Column51", "Column52", "Column53", "Column54", "Column55", "Column56", "Column57", "Column58", "Column59", "Column60", "Column61", "Column62", "Column63", "Column64", "Column65", "Column66", "Column67", "Column68", "Column69", "Column70", "Column71", "Column72", "Column73", "Column74", "Column75", "Column76", "Column77", "Column78", "Column79", "Column80", "Column81", "Column82", "Column83", "Column84", "Column85", "Column86", "Column87"}),
#"Merged Columns" = Table.CombineColumns(#"Removed Other Columns",{"Column1", "Column2", "Column3", "Column4", "Column5", "Column6", "Column7", "Column8", "Column9", "Column10", "Column11", "Column12", "Column13", "Column14", "Column15", "Column16", "Column17", "Column18", "Column19", "Column20", "Column21", "Column22", "Column23", "Column24", "Column25", "Column26", "Column27", "Column28", "Column29", "Column30", "Column31", "Column32", "Column33", "Column34", "Column35", "Column36", "Column37", "Column38", "Column39", "Column40", "Column41", "Column42", "Column43", "Column44", "Column45", "Column46", "Column47", "Column48", "Column49", "Column50", "Column51", "Column52", "Column53", "Column54", "Column55", "Column56", "Column57", "Column58", "Column59", "Column60", "Column61", "Column62", "Column63", "Column64", "Column65", "Column66", "Column67", "Column68", "Column69", "Column70", "Column71", "Column72", "Column73", "Column74", "Column75", "Column76", "Column77", "Column78", "Column79", "Column80", "Column81", "Column82", "Column83", "Column84", "Column85", "Column86", "Column87"},Combiner.CombineTextByDelimiter("|", QuoteStyle.None),"Merged"),
#"Split Column by Delimiter" = Table.ExpandListColumn(Table.TransformColumns(#"Merged Columns", {{"Merged", Splitter.SplitTextByDelimiter(";", QuoteStyle.Csv), let itemType = (type nullable text) meta [Serialized.Text = true] in type {itemType}}}), "Merged"),
#"Added Prefix" = Table.TransformColumns(#"Split Column by Delimiter", {{"Merged", each "|" & _, type text}}),
#"Replaced Value1" = Table.ReplaceValue(#"Added Prefix","||","|",Replacer.ReplaceText,{"Merged"}),
#"Split Column by Delimiter1" = Table.SplitColumn(#"Replaced Value1", "Merged", Splitter.SplitTextByDelimiter("|", QuoteStyle.Csv), {"Merged.1", "Merged.2", "Merged.3", "Merged.4", "Merged.5", "Merged.6", "Merged.7", "Merged.8"}),
#"Removed Columns" = Table.RemoveColumns(#"Split Column by Delimiter1",{"Merged.1"}),
#"Removed Duplicates" = Table.Distinct(#"Removed Columns")
in
#"Removed Duplicates"